There is also a fan base that is hungry for its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2013.

The team is not shying away from thinking big.

"I think we have high expectations," Wojciechowski said Tuesday. "I think we have a team that has guys who are experienced, who have been through the battles, that have grown, matured, developed.

"I think we have really good balance. Our team length and size is much greater than it's been since I've been here. And I still think we are a very skilled team.

"The key to becoming a great team is daily work, daily investment and daily improvement. That's our focus and hopefully the byproduct of that will be an outstanding season. I think we are capable of that."

"We're not going to let that change us," Howard said. "We're going to be the same team that we continue to try to be. Continue to get better. We know the things that we need to work on as a team to get better as well as individually."

Golden opportunity: Howard is headed to Winston-Salem, N.C., this week after snagging an invitation to Chris Paul's "Elite Guard Camp."

He is one of 20 collegiate players who will work for a few days with the Houston Rockets guard.

"Just trying to be a sponge," Howard said. "Soak up as much information as I can. Learn from one of the best, if not the best, point guard in the league in Chris Paul.

"I've looked up to him as a player in the NBA, so really just hoping to get the most out of my experience there and learning from him as well as competing with the other guys who are going to be there."

Wojciechowski worked with Paul when the coach helped USA Basketball prepare for the 2008 and '12 Olympics.

"He is a basketball junkie through and through," Wojciechowski said. "He loves to help people get better at the game. He's a great communicator. And so I think Markus will benefit greatly by spending a couple days with him."

Cheers, Diener: Former MU guard Travis Diener wasn't expecting to go viral on social media after hitting the winning shot for the Golden Eagles Alumni in the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament.

Diener told an ESPN reporter that, before the team plays Overseas Elite in the TBT semifinals Thursday, he only wanted to "Sleep. Drink some beer. That's about it."

"I didn't get back to my phone until like an hour after the game," Diener said. "And I had all these messages and 60-70% of them were 'Sleep and drink beer.'

"By that point I'd heard it had become kind of a big deal. But, you know, I was just being honest."